March 2016
Prayer Labyrinth
This was a simple floor labyrinth with a pile of rocks at the entrance. Visitors were invited to pick up a rock, carrying into the centre and then leave it at the cross there, retracing their steps to exit.
The labyrinth had to be created in situ. It's a bit too big to lay out anywhere else.
The floor cloth is 2 DIY dust sheets sewn together. They are an open-weave fabric on one side and thin plastic on the other. This was very handy so that the paint didn't go through to the floor underneath. The concentric circles were drawn with chalk using string around a traffic cone. The horizontal and vertical lines were added and the gaps brushed away to form one pathway into the centre.
I walked the route many times as I painted it in (with black emulsion) as I was paranoid that I would create one gigantic dead-end - not a good spiritual experience.
The top picture shows the labyrinth set up with the cross in the centre with some rocks and with some rocks at the entrance. There are bible verses on the outside of each quadrant:
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not see it?" Isaiah 43:19
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
"Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
"Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way" Proverbs 3:6
Once set up, I walked the route, carrying a stone simply to test it. Assigning a particular concern I had, I felt surprisingly lighter after placing it by the cross.
A young boy carried a large stone into the centre, saying that he was carrying for his 1 year-old cousin because he couldn't carry his own.
This prayer installation has had the biggest impact so far.
In the children's corner I added a book on different labyrinths from around the world. I also created some finger labyrinths which I laminated.
